Lesbian mothers’ discourse on grandparenting: the bioconjugal model brought into question

Résumé 0

Few studies explore grandparent and grandchild relationships in a homoparental context. Such works as exist show a differentiated attitude of the grandparents according to whether or not they accept the homosexuality of their child having become a parent and a specific commitment according to the parent’s lineage and/or legal status. The authors focus on about twenty French lesbo-parental couples (questionnaires and interviews), with children born in 2011 or 2012. Some had married since, others not, but the main distinctions considered relate to the type of maternity adopted and the status of the donor. The results show that the closer the lesbian couple comes to the bio-conjugal model, or more precisely the conjugo-parental model, the easier the relationships between grandchildren and grandparents are on both sides of the maternal branches, this being dependent on the intergenerational and relational issues of transmission.